1. Field of the Invention
The following description relates to shaving razors and shaving cartridges. A shaving razor or shaving cartridge may include one or more blades and one or more retainers for retaining elements of the shaving razor or shaving cartridge. For example, a pair of c-shaped retainers extending along a pair of side edges of the shaving cartridge retains the blades in position within the housing.
2. Description of Related Art
Typically, a conventional razor head includes one or more razor blades secured to a razor head housing. A number of different securing mechanisms are typically used for securing razor blades. Such conventional mechanisms include clip retaining elements that wrap around the front and rear edges of a razor head housing and clip retaining elements that extend through one or more pairs of apertures adjacent to the front and rear ends of the housing.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,035,537 describes a pair of clips that wrap around the front and rear ends of a razor housing for securing blades within the housing. U.S. Pat. No. 8,286,354 describes a razor head including two pairs of apertures formed in the body of the razor cartridge for receiving a pair of clips to retain the razor blades within the housing. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2015/0090085 describes a razor head including a pair of apertures and a pair of clips that extend through the pair of apertures on one end and wrap around the housing on the other end. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0077619 describes a unitary retainer element that wraps around three sides of a cartridge frame with a plurality of tabs at either end that wrap around ends of the cartridge frame and extend into apertures in the cartridge frame to provide structural stability to the cartridge frame.
FIGS. 11A-11B are diagrams illustrating a prior art shaving cartridge. Referring to FIGS. 11A-11B a conventional razor cartridge 10 includes a pair of clips 15 that extend through apertures formed on both ends of the razor cartridge. The clips 15 extend over the razor blades from a front edge of the housing adjacent to a guard bar to a rear edge of the housing adjacent to the cap.
Several disadvantages are typically encountered in the use and manufacture of conventional razor cartridges such as the razor cartridge 10 illustrated in FIGS. 11A-11B. During the manufacturing process, clips 15 may encounter buckling as a result of the force that is applied in bending the legs of the clips 15. As a result of the bending force exerted on the clips 15, the clips 15 have a tendency to buckle upwards. Therefore, the blade exposures may be unstable throughout the razor cartridge 10 and may vary significantly from the intended blade exposure values.
Also, during the manufacturing of the razor cartridge 10, one or more legs of the clips 15 may fail to be bent. That is, after manufacturing of the razor cartridge 10 is completed, additional attention and labor may be required to ensure that all the clips are properly secured and all the clip legs are properly bent beneath the housing of the razor cartridge 10. Where a clip leg is not secured, additional steps are required to bend the clip leg beneath the housing.
Further, manufacturing of the razor cartridge 10 is a multi-step process that typically includes providing clips 15 having specific dimensions and materials that may require use of a third party vendor for manufacture and/or supply, positioning the clips 15 at the proper position, placing the clip legs through one or more pairs of apertures or wrapping the clip legs around the housing, and bending the clip legs after securing the clips 15 to the one or more pairs of apertures. This manufacturing process is timely and costly, and typically requires multiple steps and a third party manufacturer and vendor.
It should also be appreciated that the razor cartridge 10 including the clips 15 provides a variable retaining force throughout the length of the clips 15. Because the clips are secured 15 to the razor cartridge 10 at only the front and rear ends thereof, the retaining forces throughout the length of the clips 15 is variable.